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Coll 17/7(1) 'Iraq and Palestine: agreement for transit through Palestine of goods to and from Iraq; Baghdad-Haifa railway' [136r] (282/1068)
The record is made up of 1 volume (524 folios). It was created in 23 Apr 1929-23 Apr 1936. It was written in English and French. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY’S GOVERNMENT
^ — -
EASTERN (General).
CONFIDENTIAL
r
7 0 ^
ij
October 8, 1934.
Section 1.
[E 6239/6/65] No. 1.
Consul Mackereth to Sir John Simon.—(Received October 8.)
No. 50. Confidential.)
i r Damascus, September 10, 1934.
WITH reference to yonr despatch No. 26 of the 17th August, 1934, on the
subject of traffic routes between Iraq and Palestine, I have the honour to refer to
Bagdad despatch No. 425 of the 24th July, 1934.
2. Although the Syrian transdesert carriers, citing Palestine’s benevolence,
have applied for further remission of taxation to bring down the price of motor
spirit to them in Syria to its ex-customs cost in Palestine, the Damascus
municipality can ill afford such a gesture, also is it unlikely that the Syrian
Treasury, with many new schemes to finance, will be able at present to envisage a
reduction of its revenue from this source. If the price of fuel should become
in the future a major factor governing the choice of the alternative Haifa route
by merchants or travellers to the detriment of the Damascus route, the Syrian
authorities have a substantial reserve of tax margin to bring into play. The basic
c.i.f. price of petrol, fixed by the petroleum companies, is identical m Palestine
and Syria. Owing to heavier interior duties the retail price (cum taxation) ot
motor spirit in Syria is about 3^. a gallon higher than it is in Palestine. I e
effect in Syria of remitting the customs duty (1-60 Syrian piastres a kilogramme)
was then to lower the price level of petrol to approved transdesert carriers to that
of duty-paid petrol in Palestine. The Palestine Government s ordinance of the
2nd June, 1934, has now upset that equilibrium, and petrol for approved trans
desert carriers is to-day 42 per cent, cheaper m Palestine than it is m ^ia At
present this is not a determining cost factor, as is shown by e ac
Nathaniel in 1931, 1932 and 1933 carried across the desert to an “
three-quarters of all the merchandise transported via Damascus notwithstanding
the fact that he enjoyed no customs franchise whatever m Syria either for his
materiel or fuel. Possibly, however, the lower cost o pe ro , w o £
may more than compensate him for the greater leng o .1 Jrmseauence
Transjordan
Used in three contexts: the geographical region to the east of the River Jordan (literally ‘across the River Jordan’); a British protectorate (1921-46); an independent political entity (1946-49) now known as Jordan
. Future transport statistics may 18 ^ • £ trans
lead the Syrian Government again to bring down the fue !
desert carriers to the Palestine level by a furtlmr rennss the Mediter-
3. The eventual commercial success of the Palestine route ^ ^
ranean, inaugurated as a public service by the If ac l 1 ’ T ^ j’ t w pi
not depend, as I see it, upon tax bounties m Paiestme and Transprdam^t win
/depend rather upon the shipping and railway service ’ carriers and
| Palestine offers fading centre, the^techmca^skill^oftraMdesert earners^ ^
i on the security and the surface of the Irans]o n.iri basic charge of the
a passport tax of 5s. in Transpordan stdl leases ® h h " e a i wa y S
Nathaniel service £2 lower than that of the iNairn company ^ ^ ^ bett J er
been able to charge higher fares than their p ^ employ
conditions under which their passengers travel and of the fact that they P y
“b?*!- Nairn Cnp.ny <- Ba,« ,» M™. i--
0
0
First-class
Second-class
£
7
5
s.
10
10
CMI d r~)W««i). running an «aa«,o«.l Albion tag charg.
4 di “ r ‘i o j.t" ixs crth.t./ no r--*
I Bagdad by turn, out to be "cononucally
Company will be willing to i" l ' , 'nj lr 'j;' ,L t | l Amm an, Bagdad, Beirut.
6. I am sending copies of this (lespaicii uj
J erusalem and to the Department of Overseas Trade.
GILBERT MACKERETH.
[231 h—1]
About this item
- Content
The volume contains correspondence, reports and minutes regarding road and rail transport through Iraq, Trans-Jordan [Jordan], Palestine, Syria and Iran. The following topics are discussed in detail:
- The proposed construction of a Baghdad-Haifa rail route. The file also includes records regarding the planned transfer of the Iraqi Government Railway from British to Iraqi control.
- Transport developments and trade routes in Syria, and economic competition between French- and British- mandated territories in the region.
- Proposals for the development of free zones at the port in Haifa, for Iraqi and Persian [Iranian] goods. This includes discussion of customs dues, and facilities to be offered to foreign governments.
- Proposals by Haim Effendi Nathaniel, the Iraqi Railways Canvassing Agent, for facilities to assist in the development of a trans-desert motor route between Iraq and Palestine, and the right to carry Iraqi mails via the Amman ['Ammān] route.
- Customs and Trade Agreements between French-mandated territories and Iran.
The principal authors and correspondents are: HM High Commissioner for Palestine; HM High Commissioner for Iraq; the Foreign Office Eastern Department; the Secretary of State for the Colonies; HM Minister at Tehran; and the Committee of Imperial Defence, Standing Ministerial and Official Sub-Committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East. The volume also contains a small number of communications received from the Government of Iraq.
The volume contains the following items of note:
- Minutes of a meeting between the Iraqi Treasurer and Haim Effendi Nathaniel, regarding the Baghdad-Haifa Desert Motor Route, held on the 18 January 1933, ff 425-428.
- Records of a meeting between the Treasurer, the Iraqi Delegation, and the Director of Customs at Palestine, regarding the proposed free zone facilities at Haifa for Iraqi goods, and the establishment of terminal facilities and a preferential tariff, ff 371-392.
- Draft minutes of a meeting of the Committee of Imperial Defence, Standing Ministerial and Official Sub-Committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East, held Monday 17 July 1933, regarding: 1) the proposed pipeline from the British Oil Development Company's concession near Mosul to the Mediterranean, and 2) the Trans-Desert Railway from Baghdad to Haifa. Plus related despatches received from Baghdad, Aleppo and Beirut, notes on the strategic value of the Baghdad-Haifa railway by the Secretaries of State for Air and War, ff 326-357.
- Communication from the High Commissioner for Iraq (Francis Henry Humphrys) to the Foreign Secretary (John Simon), summarising the development of road and rail transport routes between Iraq, Syria and Palestine from 1925-1934, ff 247-249.
- English translation of the Decree of the French High Commissioner in Syria, 'Governing the Regime of Customs Exemptions granted to Transdesert Transport Concerns maintaining regular services of the transport of international transport goods', ff 222-236.
- Minutes of meetings of the Committee of Imperial Defence, Standing Ministerial and Official Sub-Committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East, held 11 and 23 October 1934, regarding the proposed Baghdad-Haifa route, ff 139-177, 90-107, and 70-89.
- Memorandum on the Baghdad-Damascus desert route, prepared by the Commercial Secretary to the Baghdad Embassy, 1935, ff 5-10.
The volume also contains a proposal by the Palestine Corporation Limited to construct a highway connecting Palestine and Iraq, found at folios 14-30. This proposal is discussed in depth in the second part of the file, IOR/L/PS/12/2852.
The volume includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the volume by year. This is placed at the end of the correspondence (folio 1).
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (524 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in rough chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 526; these numbers are written in pencil, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the two leading and ending flyleaves. A previous foliation sequence has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
- Written in
- English and French in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Coll 17/7(1) 'Iraq and Palestine: agreement for transit through Palestine of goods to and from Iraq; Baghdad-Haifa railway' [136r] (282/1068), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2851, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100076591288.0x000053> [accessed 10 November 2024]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/2851
- Title
- Coll 17/7(1) 'Iraq and Palestine: agreement for transit through Palestine of goods to and from Iraq; Baghdad-Haifa railway'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:ii-v, 1r:13v, 31r:37v, 40r:212r, 214r:221v, 242r:264v, 266r:312v, 316r:346r, 349r:404r, 407r:411v, 417r:446v, 449r:465v, 468r:471v, 474r:474v, 478r:485v, 488r:502v, 504r:526v, iii-r:iv-v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence